Hiya! This time, I'm looking for a shoujo romance with a heroine that IS NOT GENKI. Almost all the shoujo heroines are, so this can be a tough call...

I want a heroine that isn't naturally sunny, upbeat, cheerful or overly energetic.

So I would be fine with quiet or understated heroines, as well as solemn or stern ones, or mellow or sad ones - basically, any heroine to whom the term "genki" does not apply in any way.

Lol, it was weird to follow up that request with a grin! Too genki of me.

PS. Obviously I don't mean the definition of "genki" as in just "well/healthy," but rather genki as a personality trait, as it is termed here.

Edit: I put this in the shoujo forum, but since it is a search, maybe it should be in "looking for"? Wasn't sure which forum to put it in, since it kind of belongs to both. >_>;

First and foremost though, "Genki" is copyrighted by Yuki, so you need to reimburse a fee to her every time you say it.

There, I said it! Are you now happy?



Anyways...

Cat Street's lead isn't really cheerful in the beginning, and more like all asocial and stuff. I think Chocolate Cosmos fits too. Not exactly the "genki" type of lead.

Shinobi Life has a serious lead, love this Shoujo. Then there's Suki-tte Ii na yo by Hazuki Kanae whose works I absolutely adore.

And C-Blossom - Case 729 which is made of astronomically large amounts of win. My gateway Shoujo manga. <3 Same author of Coelacanth.

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what about saver ?

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Tom4toes!!!!
Chick3n!!!!
Fo0d!!!!

Shoujo request belong to I'm Looking For.

Mmm, not sure, but maybe Mana and Devil and her Love Song?
Masca


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And if the world were black and white,
you would be my rainbow in shades of grey.

Click 'n Play!

If I had a fantasy self, it'd be a tentacle monster.

Beauty Pop
Akuma to Love Song
M to N no Shouzou
Cynical Orange

I second Cat Street.

Seconded Beauty Pop and Akuma to Love Song

These heroines are not exactly "genki".

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I read so much mangas, I'm too lazy to watch anime!

Manga I'm loving ATM: Heart no Kuni no Alice

WOW, it's surprising how many of these I haven't read... And I thought I'd read quite a bit of shoujo, lol.

Thank you, everyone!

Is The Wallflower too obvious? XD

Kagen no Tsuki, IMO the best and more balanced work of Yazawa Ai . It's sad, but there are comedy moments. It's bittersweet, harsh and dreamy at the same time. And all of this nicely wrapped in only three volumes ^_^.

Anastasia Club the only work by Chiho Saito I really like. The heroine is sharp, a bit of a detective, not too affected by the oh-so pretty men she meets ---> no wishy-washy female into a romance triangle, for once.
Pity there's a scanlation cliffhanger right close to the end >.< . But if some detective stories+Romanoff's dynasty mystery tickle your fancy, do try ^^.

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=2845 Shoujo Ningyo , as other works by MIZUSHIRO Setona, features a non-genki characters. Ningyo is actually one of the few smut titles were the smut serves the story and not the other way round
A more recent work of hers is Kurobara Alice : romance, horror, vampires, oh yey . But she has tried quite a range of genres, you'll probably find something you like.

I second Dr. Love's suggestions of Coelacanth
Akuma to Love Song , thirded

Clover (Clamp)
Fever
Lovesick
Sprout
Please Save my Earth <-- this also has some older womanXyounger man romance , you asked for it in another thread if I remember correctly.
Reaching You The protagonist is a very quiet and shy girl...
Yawarakai Kara <--love the mangaka storytelling and peculiar art. This one is her shoujo anthology.
The kidnapping of Minja Jo's Boyfriend The girl is pretty energetic, but I can't see her possesing other genki qualities than that.
The 1st and 2nd one-shots of Tongari Root too.
Antique Romance
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Also... they're seinen, but some works by SAHARA MIzu aka [a]Sumeka Yumomo[/a] like Hoshi no Koe and Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan are good romance stories with a non-genki protagonists.

--
The other not already mentioned titles I can think of right now are all josei and seinen , sorry.

Last edited by elianthos at 5:53 pm, Sep 24 2009

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Motomi Kyousuke is DA (WO)MAN ;D
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=14467&p ost=382161

Monkey High: The guy sorta is though. But not to the point its annoying. Just in comparison to the main character.

Watashi ni xx Shinasai! : so far she isnt. Hopefully she doesnt get ruined when she falls in love. Happens all too often. Get a cool main character and they have to get turned into a marshmallow.

Stroke Material: Its short though. Slightly smut but really not much.

I couldnt think of many. Even my top favorite shoujo girls are still genki. They just manage to not annoy me as most.

I also suggest Beauty Pop. Of the same thread are the heroines of Ouran High School Host Club and My Heavenly Hockey Club.

70s dramas usually have very sad, thoughtful heroines. There's not a single genki girl in the gorgeous melodramatic sludge that isOniisama e.

And then there's genderbending heroines like the girls from Orpheus no Mado and Rose of Versailles.

Pretty everyone has mentioned the mangas I have thought off...

You could also try Honey Bitter

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May the Chocolates of Heaven be on your side.

Nemuranai Machi kara is excellent.

And others:
23:00
Angel Shop
Halfway
H2O
Hana no Namae
Hotarubi no Mori e
Koibumi Biyori
Shisei (YOKOBABA Ryo)
Suki-tte Ii na yo

Last edited by Odette at 9:01 pm, Oct 19 2009

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Reading: Kingdom, Sangokushi, Historie

Aishiteruze Baby
The Kidnapping of Minja Jo's Boyfriend
Love SOS
Mint na Bokura
Her Majesty's Dog! x3
Kimi no Iru Basho - Real x Fake
Karakuri Odette
Akuma to Dolce?

SAVER

briefly:
a sword-wielding, strong herione. a travel to another world series. lots of action. (the real deal begins at vol 2 cause that's when she arrives in the unknown world)

more:
the heroine(Lena/Ley) is dealing w/ some family problems and then thru a certain event she gets transported (& stranded) in an unknown world, which is in a war state. she meets ppl along the way who travel w/ her and fight together. Ley often shows a solemn expression, especially when she recalls her family, and some of her buddies can see her sad eyes...


great stuff, esp if u dont like the usual shoujo fluff.